The War Begins: Nationalist Lightning Strike, Major Socialist Victory, Loyalist Failures
Nationalist Lightning Strike April 2, 1936. Davisville Nationalist supporters rise up and within 2 hours, secure the city and join Nationalist California. The NCA 1st Army corps at 0600 marches from Sacramento to Davisville. Arriving at 1100 in Davisville, the army corp finds 7,500 eager recruits to join the ranks along with crowds of fanfare. They are swiftly incorporated. The NCA 2nd and 3rd Army Corps advances along the flank at 0500 and secures Woodland at 1200 hours and Winters at 1500 hours without a shot fired and gain 5,000 more troops to join the struggle. Most of Northern California has by now, been secured and it is initially planned to stop at Davis. Meanwhile, The NCA 2nd Army Corps advances along the flank at 0500 and secures Woodland at 1200 hours and Winters at 1500 hours without a shot fired and gain 5,000 more troops to join the struggle. At the same time, Prescott's ambition proves advantageous as the Motorized troops speed to the small town of Dixon. They quickly advance as Prescott is puzzled. Where is the Alta Californian Army? An emboldened Prescott advances all the way to Fairfield by the next day. There, another rebellion in the early morning hours of April 3 seized Fairfield and invited Prescott's Army forward. Prescott's forces arrived after seizing Vacaville to crowds of fanfare and reinforcements. Combined with his starting troops and reinforcements received along the road from Davis to Fairfield, Newly promoted General Thomas Prescott now fields 95,500 troops to make a defense of their gained lands more feasible. 45 miles of ground has been gained in a matter of 2 days, an impressive feat by the Nationalists. For 2 days, there is a lull as the Nationalists await any sort of attack by the Alta Californians. Field Marshal Lucas arrives to discuss a strategy with General Prescott. There are two routes to defeating the Alta Californians. Option 1 is to continue eastward and cross the Alfred Zampa Memorial Bridge on the Carquinez Strait by advancing towards Vallejo. Option 2 is to head southward and cross the Carquinez strait with boats and seize the small town of Benicia, then from there cross the Carquinez behind the Alta Californians and advance eastward towards Walnut Creek. Nationalist scouts are well informed of Alta Californian numbers. 60,000 troops stand in the way of Prescott's much larger army. Prescott decides to take the offensive, not realizing the Alta Californian strategy is unintentionally playing into his hands. Stunning Socialist Victory The Socialist strategy hinges around one objective. Maintain the Grapevine and at all costs, do not allow the Alta Californians to take Los Angeles. There is no real plan considered of offensive attack Thus, General Kinkaid and his 125,000 troops of the 4th Army form their line along Lake Castac, just outside the town of Lebec just inside the Grapevine. Their intention is a defensive engagement but if an opportunity is to present itself, they are to exploit a breakthrough. Kinkaid is optimistic but is also reasonable. Though his army could have advanced further, he wants his troops to be well-rested, well trained and ready for an engagement. Kinkaid believes if timed right, a counterattack can seize the strong positions held by the Alta Californians at Fort Tejon, about 10 miles north of KInakid's position. Kinkaid is supported by most of the younger officers but is opposed primarily by the commander of the 1st Army, General Liam Nicholas. One of the biggest advocates for General Nicholas is Major General Travis Paschall, commander of the 3rd Infantry Division. One of the biggest advocates for General Kinkaid is Colonel Adalias Thomas, commander of 14th Infantry Regiment. Fortunately, on the 31st of March, General Nicholas and First Army are sent to Barstow, the first major outpost in Southeast California, located on the border with Arizona. By the time battle breaks out, Nicholas has not even arrived in Barstow and is in no position to turn back without defying High Command. Kinkaid has a free hand to conduct operations. Kinkaid's forces dig in and wait. They are well-rested, poorly trained but with high morale and a fierce fighting spirit. Lake Castac is a strong position to dig in. With the shallow river defenses enough to slow an enemy down and with the path to the river covered by a winding hill, the Alta Californians, it is hoped will walk straight into the teeth of the Socialist defenses. Earlier that day, at 0900 hours after 7 hours of rest and 5 hours of preparation, Samuel Kinkaid's Socialista Pacífica 4th Army prepares for battle. The Alta California 1st Army slowly advances out of their defensive line at Fort Tejon, 10 miles northwest of Kinkaid at 0700. As they approach Lake Castac at 0900, 1st Army attacks. 7 assaults are launched. The 3 assaults on the right are successful but the 2 center strikes are blunted and the 2 left assaults are repulsed. The defenders blast away fiercely at the charging soldiers, taking high casualties while inflicting high casualties as well. Suddenly just as the right flank is about to break, Kinkaid’s center strikes the attackers. In a bold maneuver, 2nd Infantry Division, 20,000 strong commanded by Major General Gregory Wilcox gambles. The frontal assault slams into the centerline as Socialist troops charge across the lake out of their fortifications. Taking high casualties(9,000 of the 20,000 strong division were killed), the attack is a success, opening a gap through the Alta Californian centerline. Emboldened, Wilcox outflanks the right flank assaults by ACA 1st Army before breakthrough could be achieved and ambushes the Democratic right flank and rolls it back into the center. As the right flank of the Socialists holds, the galvanized 4th Army counterattacks fiercely and within 3 hours cause 1st Army to flee in panic as the right flank collapses and General Daniels orders a retreat. The retreat is hasty and chaotic as 1st the Army flees the hills in panic. Invigorated by this triumph, Kinkaid launches a massive pursuit and advances the 4th Army from Lake Castac out of the Grapevine, stunning Democratic forces as they are pushed back and not given a chance to regroup. Lebec falls at 1300 hours and Fort Tejon falls an hour later as Kinkaid continues marching on toward Bakersfield as Alta California 1st Army, 100,000 strong commanded by 52-year-old General Quincy Daniels is knocked back in stunning and costly defeat after defeat. It is a huge blow for Democratic Forces who entertained the possibility of seizing Los Ángeles after advancing through the Grapevine. (Mountain Range that separates Bakersfield and all of Northern California from Los Ángeles and Southern California.) The Alta Californians by this point are not only pushed out of the Grapevine but are failing to form a defense line to stop Kinkaid's advance. Daniels loses 20,000 men and 12,000 wounded in the battles while Kinkaid loses 19,000 men and 6,000 wounded in the same battles. Few prisoners are taken by either side. In a stunning defeat for the Alta Californians and a stunning triumph for the Socialists, Alta California 1st Army has been driven back over 10 miles and will be driven back even further as the days pass. How can this be? Wasn't the Alta Californian Army better trained? Well not exactly. A majority of the Socialista Pacifica troops possess the new M1 Garand and a new modern reinforced helmet with a crest of California with a plow and sword in the center of the helmet while many of the Alta Californians still carry M1 Springfields and the old Doughboy helmets from WW I. The Socialists were entrenched and well-rested. Their foe was not. Kinkaid exited the day-long battle and pursuit with 106,000 troops with 100,000 combat-ready. The Socialists had been badly underestimated by a foe who thought they knew what to expect. Kinkaid triumphs at the Battle of Lake Castac, Battle of Lebec, Battle of Fort Tejón and Battle of Tejón Square. After these victories, he allows his troops to rest before setting out to continue the pursuit. This allows battered but not beaten Alta Californian 1st and 2nd Army Corps to fall back and secure a sturdy defensive line. It is considered to be a mistake by Kinkaid to not continue pursuit but he rightly justifies his armies are exhausted from the battles and the determined pursuit they made against the enemy. General Kinkaid is feted as a hero and honored with the Red Cross Sword and Oak Leaves, the highest honor received by a Socialist soldier for military courage. Major General Wilcox is given the Sword and Oak Leaves for his efforts as well. Kinkaid now plans to advance as far as he could until he could find the Alta Californian forces again. Loyalist Failures The Alta Californians take no consideration towards the threat that the Nationalists could potentially bring. Of the 2 million troops raised, 1.25 million troops have